flora and vegetation of the kokiwanee nature preserve david j. hicks and teresa m. michaelis biology...

FLORA AND VEGETATION OF THE KOKIWANEE NATURE PRESERVE

David J. Hicks and Teresa M. MichaelisBiology Department, Manchester

CollegeNorth Manchester, IN

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K

K● Wabash

● North Manchester

Huntington ●

WABASHCOUNTY

ACRES Land Trust, Inc. 2004

SalamonieState Forest

KokiwaneeNature

Preserve(55 ha)

SalamonieDam & Reservoir

↔ Wabash CR 50S

↕ Wabash CR 600E

SalamonieRiver

x

700 ft

Kokiwanee PreserveACRES, Inc. 139 acres

1941

1951

Current

FOREST VEGETATION

20 m

50 m

Diameter of trees (>5 cm)

Basal area (πr2) for each species

20 m

50 m

25 1 m2 quadrats for herbs, shrubs and seedlings

Diversity = trees + species in m2

Forest sample

plot

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FOREST COMPOSITION

Late 1940’s (?)

2006

3 samples of young forestLow diversity (39 spp./plot)

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50

100

150

200

250

300

DBH, cm

Tre

es p

er h

aMany small treesPeak in curve

Few large trees

Size structure of Young Forest31 ± 6 m2/ha; 810 ± 187 trees/ha

Species% of basal

area

Acer saccharum/nigrum 38

Robinia pseudoacacia 14

Prunus serotina 10

Liriodendron tulipifera 9

Fraxinusamericana/pensylvanica 8

Carya cordiformis 5

Pinus sylvestris 5

Others 11

Kokiwanee Young ForestTrees ≥ 5% basal area

1941

1951

Woodlot

Some large beechand maple

3 woodlot samplesMedium diversity (50 spp./plot)

Size structure of Woodlot28 ± 2 m2/ha; 610 ± 187 trees/ha

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50

100

150

200

250

300

DBH, cm

Tre

es p

er h

a

More large trees

Fewer small trees

Species% of basal

area

Acer saccharum/nigrum 21

Liriodendron tulipifera 21

Fraxinus americana/pensylvanica 13

Ulmus americana 11

Prunus serotina 9

Carya cordiformis 5

Others 20

Kokiwanee WoodlotTrees ≥ 5% basal area

Only samples with Fagus grandifolia

1941

Late 1940’s

1951

Oak-dominated forest on bluff topHigh diversity (67 spp.)Unique species

Species% of basal

area

Acer saccharum/nigrum 29

Quercus alba 25

Juniperus virginiana 20

Quercus velutina 14

Quercus muhlenbergii 5

Others 6

Kokiwanee Bluff TopTrees ≥ 5% basal area

24 m2/ha; 700 trees/ha

Habitat Cav Native %

All species (432 spp.) 4.4±2.4 85

Bluff top (60 spp.) 5.3±2.0 92

5 samples of mesic forestBluff face and baseHigh diversity (56 spp./plot)

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50

100

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200

250

300

Diameter, cm

Num

ber

of tr

ees/

ha Uneven age structure

with some large trees

Size structure of Bluff Face33 ± 3 m2/ha; 370 ± 105 trees/ha

Species

% of basal area

Acer saccharum/nigrum 26

Tilia americana 21

Fraxinus americana/pensylvanica 15

Juglans nigra 8

Celtis occidentalis 7

Others 22

Kokiwanee Bluff FaceTrees ≥ 5% basal area

0

20

40

60

80

100

Diameter, cm

Tre

es p

er h

ecta

re

Acer saccharum

Tilia americana

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10

20

Diameter, cm

Tre

es p

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ecta

re

J uglans nigra

Fraxinus americana

ARE THE BLUFF-FACE FORESTS OLD

GROWTH?

OLD GROWTH?

• Structure compared to known old growth

• Composition compared to known old growth

• Original survey data

Runkle criterion Kokiwanee bluff

High species diversity √

Uneven-aged √

Basal area >25m2/ha √

≥7 trees/ha ≥ 75 cm dbh 5

Large valuable trees √

Oldest trees >200 yrs ?

Tree density <250 trees/ha

368

>30 dead trees/ha 25

Tree-fall 0.6-1% of area ?

Old-growth species √

Undisturbed soils √

Little evidence of human disturbance

√

SpeciesKokiwane

eGinn Berkey

Acer saccharum/nigrum 26 44 27

Tilia america 21 8 4

Fraxinus americana/pensylvanica 15 5 6

Juglans nigra 8 <1 <1

Celtis occidentalis 7 2 <1

Fagus grandifolia 0 14 16

Ulmus americana/rubra 4 5 16

Liriodendron tulipifera 1 <1 14

Others 17 22 16Ginn Woods. Delaware County. Badger et al. 1998. Proc. IAS 107Berkey Woods. Kosciusko County. Friesner & Potzger. 1943. Butler U. Bot. Stud.

Comparison to mesic old-growth in northern Indiana

SpeciesKokiwane

eGinn Berkey

Acer saccharum/nigrum 26 44 27

Tilia america 21 8 4

Fraxinus americana/pensylvanica 15 5 6

Juglans nigra 8 <1 <1

Celtis occidentalis 7 2 <1

Ulmus americana/rubra 4 5 16

Liriodendron tulipifera 1 <1 14

Fagus grandifolia 0 14 16

Others 17 22 16Ginn Woods. Delaware County. Badger et al. 1998. Proc. IAS 107Berkey Woods. Kosciusko County. Friesner & Potzger. 1943. Butler U. Bot. Stud.

Comparison to mesic old-growth in northern Indiana

Dry prairie Beech-mapleOak-hickory Wetland

x

Lindsey. 1961. Ecology

Original survey data (1820’s-1830’s)

PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION

• Uplands (30 trees)Beech 60%Buckeye 17%Walnut 7%5 others 17%

Douglas Keller(Unpublished, 1988)

PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION

• Salamonie River corridor (34 trees)White oak 18%Sugar maple 12%Buckeye 12%Elm 9%Sycamore 9%Ironwood 9%7 others 31%Douglas Keller

(Unpublished, 1988)

OLD GROWTH?

• History, structure, composition are compatible with old growth

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

• Eli Lilly Endowment Incorporated• Office of Academic Affairs,

Manchester College• ACRES Land Trust, especially Tim

Kimmel, Rachel Sherman and Carolyn McNagny

• Kelli Griewank and Dan Chudzynski

1941 2005